Mary Graham

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rewarding health milestones with things other than food

I like to celebrate a weight loss with chocolate.

I like to celebrate surviving a long run with chocolate.

I really like to celebrate a smaller pants size with chocolate.

You can see how this might be counter-productive. But food! chocolate! salt! Those are rewards for doing something well! We celebrate family and holidays around the table overflowing with food. We get dinner out to celebrate surviving another week of work, errands, bills, sports, meetings, and lack of sleep. We mark milestones (a first lost tooth, sleeping all night without a pacifier, not saying a curse word for a full day!) with Chinese takeout and frozen yogurt.

I’ve spent my whole life celebrating or commiserating with food. And after thirty two years, it’s a daily struggle to stop. Some times I fail at the struggle and some times I succeed. But the more healthy choices I make, the more necessary it is for me to find non-food related things to celebrate my successes with.

Because as true as those statements above are, I also understand that they’re not helping me get where I want to be. So I’ve been compiling a list of ways I can celebrate a healthy change or health milestone without eating or drinking something. (This was actually a lot harder than I thought it would be.)

non food rewards 0

1. Buy a new book.

2. Get a manicure.

3. Treat yourself to a massage. (This is my favorite reward!)

4. Go see a movie.

5. New workout clothes. (I use this “reward” a lot.)

6. Take a nap. (I wish…)

7. Girls’ night out.

8. Get a new, sassy haircut.

9. Buy a new water bottle.

10. Buy a new fitness app for your phone.

11. Upgrade to a FitBit or Garmin.

12. Get a pedicure.

13. Weekend getaway!

14. Buy a new cookbook.

15. Get a tattoo. (Did this last week, I’ll share it soon!)

16. Fresh-cut flowers.

17. Buy a new pair of pants that make you feel fabulous.

18.  Create a new playlist or download new music.

19. Sign up for an official run/walk in your town.

20. Sleep in.

21. Take a day off work.

22. New pair of sneakers. (I want to finally get some Brooks after all this half marathon stuff.)

23. Buy a new piece of exercise equipment for home like an exercise ball, weights, a bike, etc.

24. A night off from kids–let someone else cook their dinner and bathe them!

25.  Long, hot soak in the bathtub.

26. Try a spray tan.

27. Finally post that before-and-after pic on social media, be brave! You’re guaranteed to inspire others.

28. Get some fancy running/workout socks.

29. New headphones/ear buds.

30. Buy a new purse or gym bag.

31. Pay yourself! My friend Brin pays herself a dollar for every workout so she gets to make a big purchase when she’s hit a new milestone.

32. Finally book that dream vacation.

33. Coffee date with a friend

34. Sign up for the gym membership you’ve been wanting.

35. And finally, chocolate (I’m sorry, I will always reward myself with chocolate. It’s the truth.)

Some of these are pretty big celebrations, while others are on the smaller scale. I think it’s important that your end goal is a celebration, but so is the short-term goal of making it to the gym four times this week or the five pounds you lost last month.

Writing down my goals and what I’ll get when I get there has been a powerful tool for my weight loss/get healthy journey. And doing something out of the ordinary is such a great way to reward yourself. I don’t know if this works for you or not, but publicly sharing my goal or goals keeps me more accountable because public ridicule or letting people down really challenges me in a good way. So find what works best for you, maybe it’s walking with a co-worker at lunch, weighing-in one morning a week with a friend, or meal planning with your sister so you guys can help encourage each other to make healthy choices. Whatever it is, find it and then do it. The key is consistency. And then just let the rewards start rolling in.

« weekend read: Wild
when I bought a dead woman’s wedding album »

Comments

  1. Heather says

    May 28, 2014 at

    Let me know how you like #22 the Brooks are amazing! Also, thanks for encouraging me to do #27…very inspiring! I still love CHOCOLATE too!!

    • mary says

      May 28, 2014 at

      You look so great and it was such a great response when everyone saw your hard work! Definitely encouraging, huh??!

  2. Tricia says

    June 2, 2014 at

    I struggle with food being either a remedy or a reward and as I’m sure you’ve seen, I’m trying very hard to stop that cycle. Thanks for this post, girl. I’m off to make my own list of rewards … that don’t involve chocolate.

    • mary says

      June 3, 2014 at

      I know you can do it, Tricia! You’ve just got to find what works for you and I think you have. 😉 Keep up the great work, friend!

  3. Karina says

    June 3, 2014 at

    I loved this!

    • mary says

      June 3, 2014 at

      Thanks Karina!

  4. LeSean McCall says

    June 4, 2014 at

    I love your blog. Its very inspiring especially your faith tab. I have to say my favorite post thus far is about you and your husband and your trials its every inspiring to the point i changed the type of blog I’m into. Thanks so much.. Have a blessed one.

    • mary says

      June 5, 2014 at

      Thank you! That’s pretty humbling to hear, and thanks for reading!

  5. Kelli says

    July 4, 2015 at

    #31 is a great idea!

  6. Andrea says

    August 15, 2015 at

    The problem with this list for me is that I have to addictions: food and spending money. With most of these involving a purchase, I’d get myself into trouble. I need to figure out ways to reward myself that are free and not food.

  7. Lorelei says

    October 30, 2015 at

    Nice idea but … careful not to develop a new pattern of addiction of spending money ! (since most of the rewards are buying something) …!

    but thanks for the inspiration

  8. Cheryl says

    October 31, 2017 at

    I have celebrated with running shoes (Brooks!), bluetooth headphones, workout clothes.

    Some of my planned rewards: dye my hair (never have in my 33 years of life) and a new scale–with body fat and water calculations.

    I saw one comment regarding free rewards– that could be “earning” an hour to do something for yourself guilt free! Most of the time, we don’t allow ourselves to have time for ourselves. I think it is extremely important to take some time for yourself in general, but if you’re not doing that already, use it as a reward! Take a hike, bubble bath, read the book that’s been sitting on your shelf, have a picnic in your backyard, whatever you enjoy!

Trackbacks

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    May 3, 2015 at

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    October 8, 2015 at

    […] Try to avoid celebrating with food…yep, I know. I want ice cream too. But check out this blog post for great suggestions other that […]

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